My favorite Holos and Glitters

These are, in my opinion, some of the best and most unique holos and glitters around.


China Glaze DV8. Looking at DV8 outside or in the sunlight is like an instant pick me up, its just so cheerful and happy. Never been high but if you looked at this long enough...

China Glaze Emerald Sparkle. 10000000x more amazing in person. I don't love most green nail polishes but this blew my mind.

China Glaze QT, looks like DV8 when outsite. Pink-red holo, flares up like DV8 does in the sun.

Color Club Worth The Risque. Silver holo. Lovely and smooth. I'm not big on silver nail polish but this is fun to wear.

Finger Paints LE Decked With Dazzle. Multi-colored foil like glass fleck glitter things. Idk what this stuff is called but its amazing and I'm sad it was a LE christmas color at Sally's.

Milani Hi-Tech. Grass green holo, great great color. This is from the new 3D collection that has just come out, my CVS only got it this week. There are six other colors (I got the purple too).  If you want to see swatches of all of them check out Scrangie's blog, there is a link in my blog roll.

Wet N Wild Night Prowl. Black with fucshia glitter. This is a new color so it may not show up for a while, my Walgreens just got it.

NOTD: Dorothy Who?

I finally tried the much raved about Dorothy Who? from the China Glaze Wizard Of Ooh Ahz collection. This collection originally came out years ago and apparently enough people begged for it to come back because China Glazed re-released it a few months ago. Dorothy Who? is a blue jelly with silver and blue glitter. Its a pretty good formula, kind of sheer but thats to be expected with jellies. This is 3 coats hear but I think it would have looked better with a 4th and probably another layer of top coat. I did this at 7:30 am before school so I didn't have much time to do extra steps but its still a great color.

Dorothy Who is somewhat similar to Blue Sparrow, but Blue Sparrow does not have silver glitter, and its blue glitter almost isn't reflective at all. I like Dorothy Who better because its blingy and exciting, but Blue Sparrow is still a nice color to have.

Review: Cover Girl Fresh Complexion Powder Foundation

Quality: 5 out of 5
Packaging: 4 out of 5
Size: .37 oz
Price: $5.00 - $7.00
Where To Buy: any drugstore
Would I Buy Again: Yes

Get a fresh, natural look - to go! Extra-fine oil absorbing powders help even out skin, covering like a liquid, cheeks to chin. The slim, blue compact goes anywhere to help control shine and keep you beautiful for hours.

Controls oil and shine
Oil-free
Hypoallergenic
Won't clog pores

I bought this after going through several pressed powders from different brands and not being happy with them. I can honestly say that this is one I will buy again and continue to love. Its different from other pressed powders in the fact that its a foundation, so its more pigmented and a bit heavier in coverage. It can be worn alone but I like to wear it over my normal liquid foundation.

The key to not looking like I'm wearing tons of foundation is to apply only a thin layer of liquid foundation, about half of what I'd normally use, then using my ELF Studio Powder Brush to apply the Cover Girl powder in a light layer, and then using the sponge it comes with on places where my pores are large or where I have red spots. This gives me the most natural flawless look I've ever acheived with the least work (though its still not perfect, but I'll take what I can get) and the least about of make up on my skin.

This does help control oil for me. I always use MAC's Prep+Prime spf 50 under everything, and that plus this powder gives me at least 7-8 hours before I really need to blot. Usually I only get 5-6 before my face looks pretty gross.

The biggest problem with this product is that the lightest shade 605 Ivory would be too dark for very pale/fair skin tones. I just barely match it and I'm pretty light. There are 11 shades total.

This really helps make 50% of my pores disappear. They are huge and abundant so that is a big deal to me.

I have had no adverse reations to this products, no breakouts or anything.

PROS:
-good coverage
-hides pores
-doesn't feel heavy
-can wear alone or over liquid foundation

CONS:
-may be too dark for very fair skin

Valentine's Day Mani: Ain't No Holo Back Girl

I'm in a nail polish rut and just am not happy with anything I put on. It took me hours to come up with this yesterday and it sort of worked as a V-day mani. 3 coats Color Club Worth The Risque, 2 coats China Glaze QT, and Art Deco's Silver Glitter for the middle.

NOTD: Nfu Oh #56

For this NOTD I used 3 coats of China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway and 1 coat of Nfu Oh #56 (you can get this at http://www.fabuloustreet.com/).

This combo reminds me of a bunch of islands in the middle of a dark ocean. Like looking at Earth from space. The green is much more prominent in person, and the blue is a bit darker. This really makes me want to try out more Nfu Oh's, I just wish they weren't $12 a piece.

NOTD: Purple Fire

I'm not a big purple lover. I like looking at the color well enough, but I'm rarely inspired to wear it, and for one reason or another it usually lets me down. I saw this Sinful Colors Lets Talk and loved it in the bottle but wasn't sure about it because it looked like a frost and I thought from looking at the bottle it was too good to be true. Well I was so wrong, this color is 100x more amazing on then in the bottle and the frost is more reflective then metallic and just perfect. I LOVE IT!!!

The color is very opaque, this is just 2 coats. It is a little thick but a few drops of Sally's Beauty Secrets Thinner should make it easier next time. This can be found in the regular display at Walgreens for just $2.00.

Valentine's Day Mani Suggestions

Valentine's Day is coming up, so here are some pinks and reds you might consider wearing on this holiday.




Sally Hansen Shell We Dance. Sheer milky pink jelly, pretty if you want a soft mani. Get it anywhere that sells Sally Hansen.

China Glaze Pure Elegance. Soft pearly pink. You can get this at Sally's or at http://www.transdesign.com/

Jordana Pink Shock. Soft pink jelly. You can find this at many mom & pop dollar or beauty supply stores for $1-$2.

Misa First Kiss. Maybe you'll get lucky wearing this pink/purple shimmery color. Get this at http://www.transdesign.com/ or other etailers.

Color Club Electro Candy. Neon hot pink, no fucshia like the photo shows just a neutral hot pink. Get this at http://www.transdesign.com/ or other etailers.

Jordana Pink Voltage. Dark raspberry pink jelly with a cool pink shimmer. Check our your local dollar stores to find this brand.

China Glaze Raspberry Festival. Red glass fleck shimmer. Get this at http://www.transdesign.com/ or other etailers.

China Glaze Ruby Pumps. Blood red jelly with red glitter. Very hot. Get it at Sally's or an etailer.

NOTD: Easter Bunny On Crack / Color Club Fashion Addict

This is my first time wearing a holo and I am just like SWEET BABY MONKEYS!!! This color is so cool, I love how its blingy without being super bright. All these photos were taken in crappy lighting, I will probably take more in the morning.

When I was a kid my dad would tell me that the Easter Bunny had eyes that swirled around with multiple colors (& they would hypnotize you but my dad had special sunglasses), this is how I always pictured those eyes.

The first photo is with flash, the select is with no light directly on it, and the last two are under my lamp light. Fashion Addict was very easy to work with and only took 2 coats. Also its a little bit lighter then the photos show, its a pale lavender with silver and pink tones with multi colored glitter

NOTD: There are Pink Sparkles in my Ocean

I got these two colors last week and knew I needed to try them out together asap. Today I got the chance and I am so wowed by this combo. This is 2-3 coats China Glaze Shower Together with 1 coat CND/Creative Raspberry Sparkle. Shower Together photographs very blue so the color is a little off, its a bit more of a darker teal but still gorgeous.

NOTD: China Glaze Meteor Shower

I got this last night along with a bunch of other gorgeous colors that you'll see here soon enough. I had heard that China Glaze's Meteor Shower was hard to apply so I added some of Sally Beauty's np thinner before using it and it went on quite well. The first coat was a little blotchy but the second made it totally opaque and that was all I needed. Meteor Shower is a dark blue-black with blue, green, and orange glitter. It does dry quite bumpy, even with 2 top coats, but I think that goes with the character and name of the polish.

NOTD: Solar Lava

I dug out some of my older polishes and found Revlon's Solar, which I got a few years ago at the Dollar Tree. I also got two Nfu Oh polishes from http://www.fabuloustreet.com/ and used #51 (Nfu Oh has numbers instead of names) over Solar. Nfu Oh polishes run at $12.50 which is usally way beyond what I will spend for anything cosmetic related but they have amazing flakie polishes which are hard to find in any other brand. This was a late birthday splurge for me.

Unfortunately I had quite a few problems, though some were my fault. The polish was very thick and hard to spread evenly. I added some thinner so hopefully that will help next time I use it. The green one, #56, seemed to be thinner when I opened it but I didn't swatch it yet so I'm not sure. It also did a lot of shrinking (when your polish comes away from the edges, so you can see the tips of your nails) very quickly, this is due to Seche Vite's quick dry top coat but some polishes work better with it then others. I will have to experiment some more to see if I can prevent this. I also melted it on the tip of one finger when I was cooking dinner, that was totally my fault. And finally on one nail the entire sheet of nail polish started to slip off for a reason I don't know. All in all this hasn't been a good mani day so I'm going to take it off and try something else.

this is a discontinued color

#51 (left) #56 (right)

NOTD: Teal Treasure

This mani was amazing. I use Sinful Colors Whats That and Nail Junkie (this one is at Walgreens), two coats of each. Whats That is harder to find but you could use China Glaze's Sexy In The City, Sally Hansen's Fairy Teal, or any other shimmery teal with Nail Junkie.

Using Sea Salt to fight Acne, my 6 month update.

In July I wrote about how I had started using Sea Salt to fight my daily acne problem, and I just wanted to do an update and share this information with anyone who didn't read it back then.

I've had moderate acne since I was about 10-11 (I'm now almost 21). I've used Pro Active and a lot of drugstore products but nothing reduced my acne more than 20% if I was lucky. In June I read about using sea salt on your skin to fight acne. I didn't really think it would work but since I already had loads of it at home I thought why not try it.

Within a week I could already see that I wasn't getting as many breakouts a day as I usually did. Old breakouts were healing more quickly and my foundation looked better because I was exfoliating my skin every day.

After about 6 weeks 95% of my acne was gone. I wasn't getting more than 1-2 pimples a week and they were usually half gone before I noticed them. After two months I generally only broke out the week before or of my period.

My skin still isn't perfect but it hasn't been this nice since before puberty. I'm not ashamed to go around my house at night after I've washed my makeup off and have my family see my skin. I still wear foundation every day but I don't have to wear as much of it. I get a pimple every once in a while (mostly just when I forget to use the salt) but they don't get as big as they use to and they heal more quickly.

How I use it:

Its so simple, at night in the shower after I've used my regular face wash to remove my make up I put 1/2 a teaspoon of salt in my wet palms. I then gently scrub my face for 10-15 seconds and wash it off. Sometimes I'll do this in the morning too. I'm actually saving money because I don't use face wash in the morning anymore like I use to.

If my skin is acting up I'll put the salt on and leave it for 5 minutes. You can mix it with honey or your face wash and use it as a mask if you want a more intense treatment.

Also I've gotten one of those small travel size spray bottles from Target and mixed a tablespoon of salt with water and I'll spray that on my face at night every so often. This is good if you have body acne and can't reach some areas like your back or shoulders. Sometimes I'll add 1/2 a cup of salt to my bath just because I breakout on my legs.

Generally its better to use Sea Salt rather then refined salt because it has more 'nutrients,' for lack of a better word, but refined salt will work in a pinch. Try it out, its cheap and doesn't take much effort. I hope it works for any of you who have the same problem I did.

Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake

This is another wonderful cheesecake recipe that is so easy to make. I made it for the first time yesterday. I was going to make apple pie for Thanksgiving but I think I'll make this instead.

for crust:
pre-made graham cracker crust

for filling:
12 oz cream cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream (whipped)
1/2 cup frozen concentrated apple juice, thawed
1/4 cup sugar

2 thinnly sliced apples

for apple glaze topping:
1/2 cup frozen concentrated apple juice
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp butter

directions:
1. mix cream cheese, sugar, and apple juice
2. add whipped whipping cream
3. pour into crust and refrigerate for 2 hours
4. cook sliced apples & butter in skillet until tender
5. for glaze mix cornstarch, cinnamon, butter, and apple juice in pan over stove until thick
6. place apples around cheesecake, pour on glaze and refrigerate another 2-3 hours or more (I would suggest making this the day before)

The easiest Cheesecake you'll ever make.

I know this is totally off topic but I've been doing a lot of baking lately and I'm getting excited about making fun things for the holidays. Cheesecake has been my #1 favorite dessert for my entire life so I looked on allrecipes.com (which has become my favorite source of food inspiration) and this was the first one that popped up. It looked so easy so I had to try it, and it turned out really good. Here is the original recipe, I did make 2 small changes.

Here's what you'll need...

Grahamcracker Crust (I used a reduced fat store bought one but there is instructions on how to make it in the link)

Filling:
12 oz cream cheese (recipe said 8 oz but I think this gives it a better texture)
1/3 cup sugar (recipe said 1 cup but its already very sweet with 1/3)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipped cream

1. Before starting set the cream cheese out for 30 minutes to warm up so its soft enough to mix. Or you can put it in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until its soft. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix together (you can do this by hand or with a mixer).

2. Pour the whipped cream in another bowl and whip until it forms stiff peaks (you'll need a mixer of some sort for this). Add it to the cream cheese and blend it together.

3. Pour the cream cheese mixture into your crust and refrigerate at least 3 or more hours. Add fruit or eat as is.

If anyone is interested in more recipes like this I'll post my cherry/raspberry/strawberry pie recipe next time.

My Favorite Hair Care Products

I've gotten so many request for what I use on my hair, so here it is. I'd like to mention that I have oily hair that is thick and usually straight.


Shampoo Conditioner: Pantene Pro V Nature Fusion Moisture Balance. This duo leaves my hair soft without any chemical build up. Typically I have to wash my hair everyday because after 24 hours it get very greasy, but the Pantene Nature Fusion shampoo lets me get away with washing my hair every other day. The conditioner keeps my scalp from feeling dry and makes my hair really soft. They both smell really good, in a nature-y, clean and comforting way.


Heat Protectant: TreSemme's Heat Tamer. This product has been great at protecting my hair from semi-regular use of flat irons and curling irons. I just spray this on, comb my hair, and I'm good to go. I've never had a problem with this making my hair look greasy, I've heard that some other heat protectors do that.


Hair Spray: I use TreSemme's Ultra Fine Mist Hairspray. This gives my hair good hold without making it stiff or crunchy (and I tend to use a lot). It doesn't have much of a smell. I've gone through almost 2 bottles of this and still love it.


For split ends: Sunsilk 24/7 TLC. This won't reverse or heal split ends but it seals the split ends together and keeps them from getting worse. I usually only use this if I've been flat ironing a lot.


Favorite Heat Tool: Cortex Clipless Curling Iron, 1 inch. Out of all the hot tools I've used I love this one best. It curls my hair without pulling on it (like a flat iron will) and the curls stay in ALL DAY & the next day my hair is still semi-curled but its a more natural look that you don't have to do anything with. Its so fast and easy to use.

Review: ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

Quality: 5 out of 5
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Size: .15 oz
Price: $3.00
Where To Buy: eyeslipsface.com
Would I Buy Again: Yes

God bless the people at ELF who made this product! It is amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing, especially for just $3.00!

This gentle and completely sheer Eyeshadow Primer has key vitamins A, C and E to help prevent aging and moisturizes the skin. The formula glides on easily and disappears instantly to create longer-lasting, crease-proof eyeshadow. The Mineral Eyeshadow Primer is designed to be used with your favorite mineral eyeshadow to provide ultimate staying power for beautiful and vibrant color that lasts. 100% mineral based with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes.

I think we all know about Urban Decays Primer Potion. We all know that its a bit expensive, and we know that the packaging sucks so you have to cut the sucker open just to get your money's worth. ELF has made a affordable alternative that, in my experience, works just as well as Urban Decays more expensive primer.

I'll start by saying that I have very oily eyelids. Without a primer my eyeshadow creases within 2-3 hours. With ELF's Mineral Primer my eyeshadow lasts about 8-9 hours (as long as I'm not out in super hot weather) with only a bit of fading. It stays vibrant most of the day.

The primer is totally sheer. The tube I got is kind of watery but I don't know if this is the norm. The tube is clear with a doe foot applicator so you can see how much you have left inside. It easy to blend and you don't need to use a whole lot.

PROS:
-very affordable, $3.00
-makes e/s vibrant
-last a very long time (8-9 hours)
-no parabens or dyes

CONS:
-none???

INGREDIENTS: Isododecane, Cylopentasiloxane, Octyl Palmitate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Triacontanyl PVP, Propylene Carbonate, Titanium Dioxide, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Mica (CI 77019), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163).

_______________________________

Coming Soon: LOOK OUT FOR MY UDPP vs ELF-MP COMPARISON POST.

Don't forget to use the code CAROLINA at the ELF website for 50% off orders up to $15. Also use Ebates for 4% cash back.

Review: ELF Studio Powder Brush

Quality: 5 out of 5
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Price: $3.00
Where To Buy: Eyeslipsface.com
Would I Buy Again: Yes!

This brush is so great! Its the first flat top brush I've tried, and it'll probably be the last. I had been thinking about getting a more expensive one from Coastal Scents but kept putting it off, finially I decided to try this one since its $10 cheaper. I've used it for both powder and liquid foundation with great results.

For powder foundation it gives great coverage and I've never had powder foundation look so good. It was easy to get the foundation around my nose but harder to get it around my eyebrows.

Applying liquid foundation with this brush was so much easier then any other brush I've used and quicker then using my fingers. Plus I got a great smooth streak free finish with zero effort. Today was really the fastest and easiest time I've ever had applying liquid foundation.

This brush is super soft, and it was easy to wash out my stubborn Revlon CS. Also there was very little foundation left on my brush, I expected there to be more on my brush then on my face like with other brushes but that doesn't happen with this brush.



PROS:
-super soft
-no shedding
-no smell
-applies both powder & liquid foundation like a dream
-cleans easy, doesn't suck foundation up into the bristles
-affordable for everyone
-vegan, bristles are synthetic

CONS:
-takes a few hours to dry like most synthetic brushes

Don't forget to use the code CAROLINA at the ELF website for 50% off orders up to $15. Also use Ebates for 4% cash back.